UN's Neglect of Sahrawi People Calls for African Action

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will meet at the end of October to discuss Western Sahara's future. The current agreement among the 15 members is not to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which ends on 31 October. Since MINURSO’s main goal is to organize a referendum for the Sahrawi people’s independence, this decision would mean handing over a founding member of the African Union (AU) to Morocco.

This situation aligns with the UNSC Resolution 2797, which asks the involved parties to enter "unconditional talks, based on Morocco’s autonomy proposal." Morocco's proposal includes offering Western Sahara “semi-autonomy” under King Mohammed VI, who has ruled for 27 years. Without international pressure and a solid explanation to Africa about why one of its countries should be handed to a dictatorship, the UNSC might take even worse actions. The Sahrawi appear before the UNSC like a small chick pleading its case before a group largely made up of hawks.

Out of the fifteen UNSC members, eleven already support Morocco and its plan to recolonize Western Sahara. Only four countries, Latvia, China, Pakistan, and Russia, are staying neutral on the issue. The other eleven are backing Morocco's questionable plan.

The issue of Western Sahara is clear-cut. It concerns the right of its people to decolonize. Spain colonized the territory in 1884. In 1960, the United Nations Resolution 1514 stated that all colonized people have the right to decide their own future. Many countries gained independence based on this principle.

But instead of decolonizing, Spain handed Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania between 1975 and 1976. After an armed struggle, Mauritania left, and Morocco took over, claiming Western Sahara as its pre-colonial territory. The UN took the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which dismissed Morocco's claims as false. The UNSC established MINURSO on 29 April 1991, under Resolution 690, to organize a referendum so the Sahrawi could choose their future.

Since then, Morocco has rejected the UN's resolution. Instead of enforcing it, the European Union, the US, and their allies want to impose Moroccan rule on the Sahrawi. The US, a member of the UNSC, on 10 December 2020, gave Western Sahara, which it never owned, to Morocco. President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order stating: "I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim that the United States recognizes that the entire Western Sahara territory is part of the Kingdom of Morocco." Morocco was thrilled about this gift. But if Morocco truly owned Western Sahara, why would it feel excited that the US gave it as a gift?

Colombia, another UNSC member, announced on 7 August 2026 that it recognizes Morocco’s sovereignty over all its territory, including Western Sahara. Bahrain, also a UNSC member, showed support for Morocco in February when its Foreign Minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, visited Laayoune, the capital of occupied Western Sahara.

Denmark, which often claims to be liberal, supports Morocco’s recolonization of Western Sahara. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called the Moroccan plan “credible” and a “serious and essential contribution to the ongoing UN process.” He said the Moroccan takeover is a “good basis for a mutually agreed solution by all parties.”

Greece, which claims to be neutral in the UNSC, openly supported the recolonization on 7 September. Its Foreign Minister, George Gerapetritis, stated in Athens that this is the only solution to the Western Saharan issue. Greece, which has a history of fascism, absurdly added that its support for extending MINURSO's mandate depends on accepting the Moroccan recolonization plan.

Panama, known for bending to external pressures, showed its support for Morocco in May. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Arturo Hueyos Boyd visited Rabat and declared that Panama’s embassy in Morocco would also cover Western Sahara.

The saddest part for Africa is that its three UNSC countries have joined the West in the League of Re-colonisation Countries (LRC). Liberia and Ethiopia are the only African countries never colonized, so it is shocking that Liberia, in the UNSC, supports the recolonization of another African country. In January 2025, its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, violated AU rules by illegally flying into Western Sahara to support Morocco's annexation.

One of the most confusing positions is that of Somalia. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud promised on 10 November 2025 to support Algeria’s stance on the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination. But shortly after, Foreign Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali showed up in Rabat to back Morocco. The Somali Presidency claimed it learned of this visit through the Moroccan press but did not denounce or reject the agreement he signed with Morocco.

In April 2025, Western Sahara signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) about independence. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is also a UNSC member, condemned this agreement. The DRC Foreign Ministry said: "The MoU signed is not a binding document, and therefore the Democratic Republic of Congo remains sovereign on this issue... the Congolese government defends the position of the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco over Western Sahara."

With the confusion in the UNSC, it is up to freedom-loving countries and people to support the Sahrawi. Nigeria and South Africa, in particular, must join Algeria to help their brothers and sisters in Western Sahara.